Yemeni Threat Pushed up US Agenda

WASHINGTON: What can Washington do to face down a growing threat posed to US national security by al-Qaeda’s affiliates in Yemen? After a failed bomb attack on a US airliner last week, this question is soaring up the national security agenda.

Barack Obama, the president, has pledged to use “every element” of US national power to hunt down those who threaten America’s safety. While the Yemeni affiliate of al-Qaeda – known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) – risks becoming a significant threat to western security, Washington’s policy options are far from simple.

The risk posed by al-Qaeda in Yemen has long been of concern to western intelligence services. In 2000 Yemeni suicide bombers killed 17 people when they struck the USS Cole. The US waged a largely successful counter-terrorism campaign over the next three years, using unmanned drones to kill key operatives. But in the past three years AQAP has been thriving again in eastern Yemen, amid the ravages of its civil war.

Today western intelligence chiefs believe the risk posed by Yemeni jihadism has become especially serious. About 100 Yemenis have been held in the Guantánamo Bay detention centre since 2002. Yemen’s foreign minister said last year that the country hosted 1,000 al-Qaeda militants. These jihadists have claimed responsibility for a range of attacks, notably the attempted assassination of Prince Mohammed bin Naif, the Saudi deputy interior minister, in August.

As Mr Obama examines his options, one possibility can be ruled out: there will be no US invasion of Yemen to echo those in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Most political strategists believe that US public opinion would not tolerate such a move. But Richard Fontaine, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think-tank in Washington, also believes it is unnecessary.

“After 9/11, the US had to invade Afghanistan because it faced a Taliban government that was totally hostile to America and with whom no deals could be done,” he says. “In Yemen you have a weak government led by President Ali Abdullah Saleh with an array of problems. But you do have the possibility of partnering that government to face down al-Qaeda militants.”

Boosting such a partnership is certain to be a key goal for the US. Washington already gives security and intelligence support to Mr Saleh’s government – and may have provided such help for two air strikes conducted by Yemeni forces on December 17 and 24.

However, such cooperation might only go so far, amid signs that Mr Saleh’s government is not as determined to take on al-Qaeda as Washington would like. “There’s a problem of will and a problem of capacity,” says Mr Fontaine.

The next few weeks are almost certain to see European Union governments pressing the US to take a different tack: focusing on trying to boost the economic and political conditions in Yemen in order to ensure that it does not become a breeding ground for jihadism.

European diplomats believe that no matter what is achieved on the security front in the short-term, Yemen’s long-term economic problems guarantee that it could become a failed state over time. Its petroleum output will fall to zero by 2017 and its water resources are running dry, according to analysts. Meanwhile, Yemen’s population will double by 2035.

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Yemeni Threat Pushed up US Agenda was first posted on December 30, 2009 at 3:42 pm.

23 killed in Twin Iraq Attacks

BAGHDAD: Staggered explosions killed 23 people Wednesday including the governor of Anbar, Iraqi officials said, in the latest violence to roil a turbulent province that is still struggling to stamp out the remnants of the al-Qaida insurgency.

The western province of Anbar is strategically important because it was once the heartland of support for al-Qaida linked militants before American officials paid Iraqi fighters to join a pro-government force.

Police official Lt. Col. Imad al-Fahdawi said two bombs exploded in Anbar’s capital of Ramadi, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad. He says a suicide bomber in a car caused the first blast on the main road near the provincial administration buildings.

Gov. Qassim al-Fahdawi, the deputy police chief and other officials came to inspect the damage, the police official said, when a suicide bomber on foot detonated a vest full of explosives nearby.

The governor and deputy police chief were killed and other officials wounded, al-Fahdawi said. Police have put a curfew in place, he added.

“The leadership in the province have requested support from U.S. forces in response to the attacks near the provincial government center in Ramadi,” said military spokesman Lt. Col. Curtis Hill. He said American forces were helping evacuate casualties, establish security and forensic investigation.

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23 killed in Twin Iraq Attacks was first posted on December 30, 2009 at 5:31 pm.

Historic NFC Award Inked

GWADAR, Pakistan News: The Chief Ministers of four provinces on Wednesday signed the historic 7th National Finance Commission Award.

The ceremony at the picturesque Gwadar, in Balochistan province, was witnessed by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and members of his cabinet.

The venue was specially chosen to reflect the desire of all the provinces to end years of deprivation of the largest province of the country.

The Award was inked by the finance ministers of the four provinces in the presence of Punjab Chief Minster Shahbaz Sharif, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti and Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani and Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin.

The new Award would come into effect from the next financial year and marks the agreement by all the federating units over the distribution of financial resources among the provinces of Pakistan by the federal government on annual basis.

Under the award the population will be given 82 percent weightage, poverty 10.3 percent, revenue collection 5 percent (2.5 percent revenue generation, 2.5 percent revenue collection) and area 2.7 percent.

Under the new NFC Award, the federation met the demand of the provincial government for a greater share in the national resources.

The provincial share of the divisible pool would increase from 47.5 percent to 56 percent in the first year of NFC and 57.5 percent in the remaining years of the Award.

Under the new formula, Punjab would get 51.74 percent from the divisible pool, Sindh 24.55 percent, NWFP 14.62 percent and Balochistan 9.09 percent.

In the new award Punjab has given up 1.27 percent, Sindh 0.39 percent and NWFP 0.26 percent, while Balochistan has gained.

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Historic NFC Award Inked was first posted on December 30, 2009 at 5:35 pm.